Stateside!

How strange is it that I was out of the country for over a year?! Occasionally it seemed like forever since we had been in the U.S., but truly the year flew by. Nonetheless we were so happy that Steve was able to get two weeks off of work to head back for the holidays and Emma and I got to enjoy four weeks in the states.



Trying to get a family photo... three of the five of us were being a bit difficult!

We headed back the weekend before Christmas and once again I have to brag that Emma, at just shy of six months old, did phenomenal during our 18 hours of travels (ok, well minus that diaper blowout when we were in the middle of heavy turbulence). However, by the time we arrived at my parents house it seemed like 5 am to us and Emma was thoroughly confused. Yet, to our surprise within four or five days she was almost on a completely normal schedule (I've come to the conclusion it's always best to expect the worst and then be surprised when it goes relatively well). We really are lucky at what a good little traveler she is!



Emma really loves flying, especially when the flight attendants and other passengers talk to her!



Dad & Emma during our layover in Canada on the way back... Emma's still going strong at about midnight Swiss time.

Just like the past year in Switzerland, our four weeks in the U.S. flew by, especially with a very busy first two weeks. Here's what it looked like... Arrive in Minneapolis and spend a few days with my parents and my sister's family, drive to Nebraska to visit my grandma and aunt & uncle, then drive to St. Louis to spend the rest of Steve's visit with his family and our friends there. From there it was back to Zurich for Steve and a flight back to Minneapolis for Emma and I to spend the rest of our time with my family.



The quick trip to Nebraska was well worth it - Emma loved meeting her great grandma and simply could not stop smiling! She also got to meet her great Aunt Margi & Uncle Dick, but unfortunately we didn't get a good photo together.

Without a doubt all of the chaotic travel plans were well worth it as it was so much fun to watch Emma meet nearly everyone for the first time! And we were so happy to have so many of you meet her - from family to friends and former co-workers! Although we do apologize that for most of the trip she had severe separation anxiety from her mother. So for all of you that were only able to hold her for about ten seconds before she burst out crying we are sorry, and congratulations to the very few of you that made it more than ten seconds!



Emma with her Grandma Jones!



Smiles with Great Aunt Mary!



What fun seeing old friends and finding out Emma will soon have more playmates!

I would be lying if I didn't say that one of the meetings that we were most excited about was Emma meeting "her" dogs for the first time. We were thrilled that she seemed to love them and was hardly afraid of them. Although I am not sure the dogs shared quite the same level of enthusiasm for her, they didn't seem to mind her. And let's be honest for those of you that know our dogs, Dakota is happy to meet anyone that will let her lick them (especially in the face), and Indiana just wants someone to pet him. Considering Emma already seems to enjoy the licks and by the time we move back Emma should be much better at petting I think they are all bound to become the best of friends! Steve and I also thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with the dogs again. A week together wouldn't be complete without a trip to the dog park either - we were happy to see that Indiana has kept his frisbee skills in check and is still showing up all the other dogs, take a look: http://youtu.be/YCieQYQrDJ8



Emma and Indiana (with his new Swiss collar), future best buds!



Our first "kids" - oh how we've missed them!



Love at first sight!



Clearly they weren't excited at all for doggy ice cream... special treat to celebrate Dakota's birthday!

In addition to spending lots of time catching up with everyone and watching Emma celebrate her first Christmas (also her six month birthday!), one of the highlights of our time home was having both of our families together for the re-affirmation of Emma's baptism at our church in St. Louis. Lots of fun family photos from there will be posted in an upcoming blog.



Emma may have been a little jet lagged celebrating her first Christmas within the first few days of our arrival.



But she still kept smiling!



And she quickly got into ripping that wrapping paper off!

After two very high speed weeks to start the trip Emma and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the second two weeks a bit more low key back in Minnesota. Lots of playing with Grandma & Grandpa Souders and well as Emma's Aunt Elise & cousin Tabitha were the focus of our time. I would be lying to not say by the end of our time that we both were a little spoiled having all of the extra help around everyday!





Someone knew how to make Grandpa laugh! And maybe the opposite way around too!



It was a lot of fun to see Emma and Tabitha playing together with the rest of their family.

Emma's already watching Tabitha's every move...

Emma went to Sesame Street Live... but I'm not sure how much she enjoyed it as she napped almost the entire show!

Grandpa helped to teach Emma how to high five and wave while we were there - maybe not the best example here but she got pretty good at it when the camera wasn't rolling!

Sisters with our daughters!

Three Generations!

Emma loving on Grandpa



Someone had a lot of fun playing with her Grandpa & Grandma Souders!



After a month of so much fun with friends and family, we were sad to see it all end. Of course I had been a little nervous about all the traveling and people meeting for Emma going into it, but overall she did better than expected. While she is still certainly at an age where she is very attached to me it is quickly becoming clear that she likes to socialize with people around her too and it is fun to watch her do just that!

So after saying a few tearful goodbyes and with three large suitcases in tow (Christmas was good to us, and of course there were the essential American items that needed to be stocked up on), I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the flight back alone with Emma. Yet it helped to know that Steve was waiting anxiously for us on the other end and we had a few kind strangers lend us a hand along the way. It was back to Zurich and back to more adventures awaiting us. We sure can't wait to see what 2013 brings us!